from Bill Wulf re NSF AD

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

Dear CS/CE Department Chair,


As you undoubtedly know, Neal Lane was confirmed by the Senate as
Director of NSF last week. One of his highest priorities is to name
the permanent Assistant Director for Computer Science and Engineering;
the position that was left vacant by the tragic and untimely death of
Nico Habermann.


A process is underway within the Foundation for this, but to expadite
the process, Neal has asked me to help informally collect nominations
and comments. The purpose of this email to to solicit same from you
and your faculty (please distribute this to any/all you see fit).  You
can reach me in a variety of ways:


        email:  wulf@virginia.edu
        phone:  804-982-2223
        fax:    804-982-2214
        usps:   Dept of Computer Science
                Thornton Hall
                University of Virginia
                Charlottesville, Va.  22903


I have asked a few folks to help me ferret out the best candidates and
to be sure that various constituencies are covered; these include Dave
Patterson of Berkeley, Mike Garey of Bell Labs, and Ruzena Bijcsy of
Penn. Beyond these folks, I can assure you that your nominations and
comments will be held confidential.


Neal and the NSF will have whatever selection criteria they have, but
as one who has been in the job, let me share my personal opinion of
the desirable attributes for the position (ie, the ones I wish I'd
had):


Stature: Stature reflects accomplishment, of course, and we hope that past
        accomplishment predicts future success. But in this position, stature
        has another property -- it enables the AD to both talk TO and FOR the
        field with some authority. The AD must do both.


Interpersonal Skills: The AD must deal with many interests -- competing
        sub-fields, the internet and supercomputing communities, the
        other agencies that support CS, Congress, etc. The AD must be able
        to understand the perspectives and roles of each of these interests
        and work with them. As in the story about catching bees with honey,
        a statesman will be a more effective AD than simply an advocate.


Management Experience/Aptitude: Managing CISE is not a huge problem. However,
        some experience/aptitude will permit the AD to focus her/his
        engergy and time on the real job of promoting the health of the
        discipline and nation (ie, this is not the best place for "on the
        job" management training).


One final note. This is a very important job at a very important time.
The issues that will be faced by NSF in general, and CISE in
particular, will shape our disciplines and our nation for decades to
come. Believe me, I know that there is never a convenient time to take
on a position like this -- and some of the decisions one must make
when in the job aren't fun. But it is very, very important, and also
very rewarding. I hope that those of you who are nominated by your
colleagues will consider it seriously, and I hope your colleagues and
employers will do their utmost to minimize the difficulties.


OK, "keep those cards and letters coming".


Sincerely,


Bill Wulf